If Curling is sending you to sleep and you've no idea what Nordic Skiing even is, then Speed Skating could be the Winter Olympics event for you. It's fast, it's furious and it's a frantic race to the finishing line across a track of ice.
There are a variety of races involving a mixture of individual and team events over various distances. But, put simply, speed skaters are the Usain Bolts, Caster Semenyas and Mo Farahs of the ice rink. Fastest to the finishing line while wearing a pair of skates wins.
There's always plenty of drama, and the odd high-speed crash too. Most notably during the Salt Lake Games of 2002 when Australia's Steven Bradbury claimed what might just be the most unlikely gold medal of all time when all four of his rivals, who had left him trailing by a huge distance, all wiped each other out on the final bend. Even Bradbury could barely believe he had won as he cruised over the line at a snail's pace.
There will be two disciplines taking place at the Games in Beijing, being Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating, with a combined 22 events in total.
Sportsmail takes you through everything you need to know for the competition.
Speed Skating will once again be an enthralling spectacle at this year's Winter Olympics
The Speed Skating events will take place at the National Speed Skating Oval, which is housed in the Beijing Zone.
The Oval has been built on top of the Olympic Green Hockey Field and the Olympic Green Archery Field, which were used during the Beijing Summer Games in 2008.
It has been rebranded as 'The Ice Ribbon, for obvious reasons, and has an area of 12,000 square meters. It also has a capacity of 12,000, but just how many spectators there will be remains to be seen.
The Speed Skating events will take place at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing
Meanwhile, the Short Track events will be held in the Capital Indoor Stadium, which will also host the Figure Skating events. It was used for the volleyball in 2008.
With the first locally transmitted Omicron case confirmed in Beijing in recent days, Beijing 2022 organisers have pulled the plug on plans to put tickets on general sale, while foreign-based spectators were already prohibited.
Instead, there will be an 'adapted programme' inviting groups of spectators.
What is the difference between Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating?Despite the relatively simple premise of speed skating, some of the formats can be complex and there are a number of rules. Most importantly, there is the difference between Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating.
Speed Skating is a race against the clock – whoever finishes in the fastest time across a series of races wins.
Short Track Speed Skating pits skater against skater in a head-to-head – whoever crosses the line first wins.
They are classed as different sports in the Winter Olympics.
Because the short track events take place on a smaller rink, that means tighter turns and shorter straights, so technique is more important than power and endurance. The tight track also means more crashes, more falls and more drama.
The tighter skating rink in short track means there are plenty of falls and crashes
In terms of Speed Skating, there are a total of 14 events for men and women. Both men and women compete in separate 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m and 5,000m races, with the men also having a 10,000m event and the women a 3,000m event.
Individual skaters start the race simultaneously in their own lanes, but must switch halfway through, from the 'out' lane to the 'in' lane, and vice-versa. The skater changing from the outside lane to the inside has right-of-way, with disqualification the punishment for impeding a rival.
Interestingly, if a skater misses their race or falls they have the option to race their distance again, as all results are based on time across the competition, not who wins the individual head-to-head.
Both sexes also compete in Team Pursuit and Mass Start races.
The team pursuit sees two teams of three skaters start at opposite sides of the course and race (eight laps for men, six for women), with the finishing time determined by when the third skater in the team crosses the line. Think of the track cycling team pursuit event at the Olympics and you're on the right wavelength.
The Mass Start race can involve up to 28 skaters and it's basically a free-for-all with no designated lanes for 16 laps, with the first three racers to cross the finishing line awarded the medals. But there are also four sprints mid-race where points are awarded for the top three finishers, with the highest number of points won on the final sprint. The racers who do not finish in the top three are then ranked by the number of points they win during the race, rather than the order they cross the finishing line.
What are the Short Track events in Beijing?There is an addition to the Short Track schedule this year, being the Mixed Team Relay, which will be making its Olympic debut.
It will be a 2,000m race consisting of two men and two women, who combine to complete 18
